As we know, the Cisco 2900 series router builds on the previous 2800 series router which had already been announced end-of-life and end-of-sale. But do you know what’s the improvement in Cisco 2900?
Cisco 2800-The Cisco Intergrated Services Router Generation 1(Cisco ISR G1)
The Cisco 2800 Series architecture has been designed specifically to meet the expanding requirements of enterprise branch offices and small-to-medium-sized businesses. The Cisco 2800 Series comprises four platforms: the Cisco 2801, the Cisco 2811, the Cisco 2821, and the Cisco 2851.
Cisco 2900-The Cisco Intergrated Services Router Generation 2(Cisco ISR 2)
Based on the Cisco 2800, the Cisco 2900 Series Similarly offering four platforms: the Cisco 2901, 2911, 2921, and 2951 Integrated Services Routers.
The Cisco Intergrated Services Router Generation 2 has much improvement in configuration and performance than the generation 1.
Let's take the comparison between 2800 and 2900 as an example.
Comparison of Cisco 2900 and 2800 Series Integrated Services Routers
|
Feature Comparison |
Cisco 2801 |
Cisco 2901 |
Cisco 2811 |
Cisco 2911 |
Cisco 2821 |
Cisco 2921 |
Cisco 2851 |
Cisco 2951 |
|
Default/maximum flash memory |
64 MB/ |
256 MB/ |
64 MB/ |
256 MB/ |
64 MB/ |
256 MB/ |
64 MB/ |
256 MB/ |
|
Default/maximum DRAM |
128 MB/ |
512 MB/ |
256 MB/ |
512 MB/ |
256 MB/ |
512 MB/ |
256 MB/ |
512 MB/ |
|
Compact flash slots |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
|
Built-in LAN connectivity |
2 FE* |
2 GE* |
2 FE |
3 GE |
2 GE |
3 GE |
2 GE |
3 GE |
|
Multicore processor |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
|
USB console |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
|
WAN slots |
4 HWIC |
4 EHWIC |
4 HWIC |
4 EHWIC |
4 HWIC |
4 EHWIC |
4 HWIC |
4 EHWIC |
|
ISM slots |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Multigigabit fabric |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
|
Optional Cisco Inline Power (PoE) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Optional Cisco Enhanced Inline Power (ePoE) |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
*FE stands for Fast Ethernet, GE stands for Gigabit Ethernet
From the table above, we can see that the 2900 router is much better than the 2800 in the configuration and performance overall. Mainly as:
- The 2900 Series Intergrated Routers support faster interface and application module form factors, including a service module (SM), an enhanced high-speed WAN interface card (EHWIC), and an internal services module (ISM), etc.
- System innovations in 2900 such as the multigigabit fabric (MGF) for module-to-module communication, dual Compact Flash memory slots, and a USB console interface.
- The build-in LAN connectivity in 2900 is gigabit ethernet while the 2800 is fast ethernet.
- The default/maximum flash memory and DRAM in 2900 series are much bigger than 2800 series.
Migration from Cisco 2800 to Cisco 2900
The table shows the migration options from Cisco 2800 to Cisco 2900.
|
Cisco 2800 End-of-Sale Product Part Number |
The Cisco 2900 Replacement Product Part Number |
Description |
|
CISCO2801 |
Cisco 2901 w/2 GE,4 EHWIC,2 DSP,256MB CF,512MB DRAM,IP Base |
|
|
CISCO2811 |
Cisco 2911 w/3 GE,4 EHWIC,2 DSP,1 SM,256MB CF,512MB DRAM,IPB |
|
|
CISCO2821 |
Cisco 2921 w/3 GE,4 EHWIC,3 DSP,1 SM,256MB CF,512MB DRAM,IPB |
|
|
CISCO2851 |
Cisco 2951 w/3 GE,4 EHWIC,3 DSP,2 SM,256MB CF,512MB DRAM,IPB |
See the complete migration options click here.